The Fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban

In this special episode of New Ideal Live, Onkar Ghate and Elan Journo discuss the Taliban’s capture of Kabul, and what explains the fall of Afghanistan.

Among the topics covered:

A summary of the crisis currently unfolding in Afghanistan;
The flawed “nation building” goals of the Afghanistan campaign, starting after 9/11;
The unwillingness to identify the ideological nature of the enemy after 9/11;
How the Taliban were able to take over Afghanistan so quickly;
Presidents Obama, Trump and Biden’s failures in the Middle East;
Why the peace accord with the Taliban exemplifies the morally bankrupt, anti-intellectual, and geopolitically impractical approach of American foreign policy;
Why the Soviets failed in Afghanistan;
Lessons from American policy in postwar Japan;
ARI’s unique, philosophical approach to the Afghanistan conflict and foreign policy in general.

Mentioned in the discussion is the new expanded edition of the Ayn Rand Institute’s book Failing to Confront Islamic Totalitarianism, available online now at New Ideal.

This podcast was recorded on August 16, 2021. Listen to the discussion below. Listen and subscribe from your mobile device on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or Stitcher. Watch archived podcasts here.